San Diego Comic Con has gotten an exhibitor’s list/map posted, which we at Fleen will be poring over to find persons and places of interest to the sort of person that reads this page. Honestly, I’m not sure if this is dropping with less lead time than in prior years (and I’m too lazy to go check), but it sure feels like it. With any luck, we’ll be able to report shortly on programming as well.

• Speaking of SDCC, being on the press list means I get all kinds of PR announcements about who is gonna be there. In case you were curious, the You Have Got To Be Kidding Me I Don’t Even Award (2012) has just been decided, on account of nothing is going to top this:
  

  E L JAMES AUTHOR OF THE BEST-SELLING “FIFTY SHADES OF GREY” TRILOGY WILL SIGN COPIES OF HER BOOKS AT COMIC-CON SAN DIEGO 2012. [SHOUTING original]

  It goes on for another couple of paragraphs after that; no word yet on whether or not the TwiHards have adopted Ms James as one of their own, but in case they have, there are new rules on lining up for days in advance.

• On the topic of actual comics, note should be made of the fact that Tyler Page is releasing a pretty sizable chunk of work (namely, pretty much the entire ten year history of this Stylish Vittles work) out there as an e-book for free:
  

  Ten years ago I published a book called Stylish Vittles: I Met a Girl. It was the beginning of my professional comics career (such that it is). Two more books followed.

  I have put together a 10th Anniversary Collection eBook which includes all three original books, as well as the conclusion that came years later: Stylish Vittles 4 – Behind the Page: The Saga of Rob Harvard. Additionally I put together a “Director’s Cut” eBook in which I eliminated all of the elements of the original books which seemed unnecessary to present a shorter, simpler narrative. Finally, included in the Deluxe Collection, are two Appendices: Appendix One is almost one thousand pages of process material – outlines, scripts, sketches, layouts, etc. Appendix Two contains all of the material I did which led up to the creation of the Stylish Vittles books.

  For reference, that’s more than 2000 pages of comics work that will cost you nothing but bandwidth (download here) and time. May I be so crass to mention (because Page is soft-pedaling this bit) that if you like what you read, you might want to toss him some money? I’m still refining a private rule of thumb for freely-distributed media that I enjoy:

  Mentally track how many pages you read, buy $1 of merch for every 10 pages.

  … on account of it falls neatly in line with buying a book collection covering a year’s worth of strips, but when creators like Page drop a few thousand pages on you, that’s the equivalent of ten or twelve books right there.

  So — sliding scale! Ten cents a page up to 250 pages, then another buck per 100 pages after that. Even if it’s not to my liking and I end up deleting it, I figure I ought to kick in a couple bucks to cover the network costs. Complicated? Maybe. But I’m trying to be an ethical consumer of media as well as a supporter of creators. Alternate models welcome in the comments.

• Speaking of potentially-bankrupting work collections, Ryan Estrada keeps hinting at “secret projects” and (in private communication) being “so very busy”. We all know what happens when Estrada gets busy in secret, right? Three dozen guest strips in one day. Until he decided to double that a year later¹.

  Until he decided he’s got bigger fish to fry, meaning that whatever is coming will most likely put the scope/scale of prior releases to shame, and thus can only be termed The Estradapocalypse. Readers are urged to stockpile canned goods, plastic sheeting, and duct tape in anticipation.

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¹ Including, it should be noted, a guest strip for this blog featuring Masthead Guy (who, contrary to an IFAQ, is not meant to be me).